Interpretation of the “Leader” Certification Technology for Photovoltaic Inverters

The "Top Runner" certification program for photovoltaic power generation products (hereinafter referred to as the "Top Runner" certification program) is a conformity assessment system that meets the differentiated quality management requirements of my country's current photovoltaic industry. The "Top Runner" certification program and the "Basic" certification are two complementary testing and certification systems. The purpose of the "Basic" certification is to eliminate backward production capacity, and the purpose of the "Top Runner" certification is to promote the application of advanced products.

"Basic" certification indicates that the safety and performance of the product and the quality assurance capabilities of the manufacturer have been evaluated and confirmed; "Leader" certification is a special evaluation of the industry's more concerned indicators such as efficiency, durability, life, actual power generation, etc. based on the "Basic" certification. Its implementation form is similar to my country's "energy-saving" product certification system.

This article will focus on the "frontrunner" certification technical requirements and related important matters for photovoltaic inverters, which are important electrical equipment in photovoltaic systems. The main purpose is to provide technical support for owners of photovoltaic power generation projects to select high-quality and efficient inverter products.

1. Main technical features

1. More comprehensive technical indicators

At present, my country's "Basic" certification for photovoltaic inverters mainly evaluates product safety, basic performance indicators, protection, EMC and general use environment requirements. "Leader" certification conducts a comprehensive assessment of efficiency (average weighted total efficiency) and environmental adaptability (influence of multiple environmental factors) based on the "Basic" certification.

2. More stringent assessment requirements

The "Basic" certification requires that the maximum conversion efficiency of the inverter without isolation transformer is above 96%, and the maximum conversion efficiency of the inverter with isolation transformer is above 94%. The "Top Runner" certification requires that the average weighted total efficiency of the inverter without isolation transformer is above 98%, and the average weighted total efficiency of the inverter with isolation transformer is above 96%. The assessment indicators of the "Top Runner" certification are much higher than the requirements of the "Basic" certification.

The assessment of "Basic" certification is mainly based on the low temperature work, high temperature work, constant humidity and vibration projects under simulated general working conditions. The assessment of "Leader" certification is mainly aimed at the comprehensive impact of low temperature work, high temperature work, alternating humidity and heat, vibration, shock, and salt spray projects under specific application environments. Its test conditions and judgment requirements for simulating specific environments are stricter than those of "Basic" certification.

2. Technical Interpretation

1. Efficiency certification

1. Certification requirements

The efficiency certification in the "Leader" certification of photovoltaic grid-connected inverters is to determine the corresponding efficiency level based on the average weighted total efficiency test value of the inverter, where level 1 is the highest, level 3 is the lowest, and level 2 is the "Leader" level, that is, level 2 and above are "Leader" advanced technology products. Since crystalline silicon components are currently mainly used in the construction of photovoltaic power stations, the rating of the average weighted total efficiency is based on the data under the crystalline silicon characteristic curve test. The average weighted total efficiency requirements of the corresponding levels are as follows: